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GIFT  0 
SEELEY  W.  1 

and 

GEORGE  1.  COCHRAN  MEY 
DR.  JOHN  R.  HAYNES  WILI 
JAMES  R.  MARTIN  MRS. 

to  tht 

UNIVERSITY  OF  C 
SOUTHERN  B 


University  Research  Library 


JOHN 


*  *  Some  Notes  on  the  First  Recorded 
Visit  of  White  Men  to  the  Site  of  the 
Present  City  of  Richmond,  Virginia.  *  * 


SATURDAY  AND  SUNDAY, 

MAY  23  AND  24,  1607. 


A  paper  read  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Association  for  Preservation  of  Virginia  Antiquities, 
held  at  "Laburnum,"  June  10,  1899. 


ROBERT   LEE   TRAYLOR. 


RICHMOND,  VA. 
PRIVATELY  PRINTED. 

1899. 


8  ti  1 2 


Fifty  Copies  Printed. 


•— ••        — - 

R5 


SOME  NOTES  ON  THE  FIRST  RECORDED  VISIT  OF 
WHITE  MEN  TO  THE  SITE  OF  THE  PRESENT 
CITY  OF  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 

We  know  that  a  short  lived  settlement  was  made 
in  Virginia  by  the  Spaniards  in  1526,  almost  a  cen- 
tury before  the  English  made  their  first  permanent 
settlement  at  Jamestown.  Some  speculations,  based 
on  not  improbable  evidences,  have  been  made 
by  careful  investigators,  tending  to  fix  upon  the 
peninsula  afterwards  named  Jamestown  as  the  site 
of  this  Spanish  attempt  at  colonization.  Reason- 
ably certain  it  is  that  the  Mass  of  the  Church  ot 
Rome,  conducted  by  Spanish  priests  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Dominic,  was  the  first  form  of  service  of 
worship  offered  to  the  God  of  our  civilization 
within  the  present  limits  of  Virginia.*  If  it  be 
true  that  this  Spanish  settlement  was  in  James 
river,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  conclude  that  they 
may  have  explored  that  river  to  the  falls,  and 
Spaniards  may  thus  have  been  the  first  white 
men  to  look  upon  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Richmond.  Record  evidences  on  this  point  are 

•*For  information  and  references  to  authorities  respecting  the 
Spanish  settlement  in  Virginia  made  at  "  San  Miguel  de  Gu- 
andape,"  by  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  see  Fiske's  Discovery 
of  America,  Vol.  II,  p.  489,  and  Winsor's  Narrative  and 
Critical  History  of  America,  Vol.  II,  pp.  240  and  285.  He 
sailed  from  Puerto  de  La  Plata,  San  Domingo,  early  in  June, 
1526,  with  three  ships  carrying  600  men  and  100  horses.  His 
•  i  smallest  vessel  was  wrecked  off  the  Carolina  coast,  and  one 
was  there  built  by  him  to  take  its  place — "  the  first  instance  of 
ship-building  on  our  coast."  The  priests  in  his  expedition  were 
Antonio  de  Montesinos — "  the  first  to  denounce  Indian  slavery," 
Antonio  de  Cervantes  and  Pedro  de  Estrada,  all  Dominicans. 
Ayllon  selected  the  most  favorable  spot  on  the  bank,  though 
most  of  the  land  was  low  and  swampy,  and  in  the  erection  of 
their  houses  they  used  the  labor  of  negro  slaves— "the  first  in- 
troduced here."  They  suffered  much  from  chills  and  fevers, 
Indian  hostilities,  incendiarisms  of  their  negro  slaves,  personal 


not  now  known,  though  they  may  exist  in  the  un- 
explored manuscript  treasures  of  the  Vatican  or 
the  archives  of  the  Superior  General  of  the  Do- 
minican Order. 

The  first  white  men  to  visit  the  present  site  of 
Richmond,  so  far  as  we  have  known  record  evi- 
dences, were  the  explorers  under  Captain  Christo- 
pher Newport,  who  spent  a  day  hereabouts  just 
ten  days  after  their  landing  at  Jamestown. 

In  the  "Certain  Orders  and  Directions  conceived 
and  set  down  the  tenth  day  of  December  (1606) 
.  .  .  by  his  Majesties  Counsel  for  Virginia,  for 
the  better  government  of  his  Majesties  subjects, 
both  captains,  soldiers,  marriners  and  others  that 
are  now  bound  for  that  coast  to  settle  his  Majesties' 
first  colony  in  Virginia,  there  to  be  by  them  ob- 
served as  well  in  their  passages  thither  by  sea,  as 
after  their  arrival  and  landing  there,"*  we  find, 

bickerings  and  altercations.  Ayllon  died  here  of  fever  October 
18, 1526,  and  not  very  long  thereafter  the  settlement  was  aban- 
doned, but  only  about  150  men  had  survived  when  they  returned 
to  San  Domingo. 

For  references  to  the  sources  of  information  concerning  the 
later  Spanish  settlement  attempted  by  Menendez  and  Jesuit 
missionaries  under  Father  Segura,  at  "Axacan,"  in  1570,  see 
Id.  p.  282.  They  ascended  the  Potomac,  crossed  over  to  the 
shores  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  erected  a  chapel  there,  but 
were  massacred  by  the  Indians.  Menendez,  on  his  return 
from  Spain  in  1572,  visited  this  site,  and  is  said  to  have  hung 
from  the  yard-arms  of  his  vessel  some  of  the  Indians  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  massacre.  May  not  the  skeletons  in  iron 
cages  reported  to  have  been  unearthed  on  the  Rappahannock 
in  the  past  year  or  two  date  from  this  Spanish  settlement  ? 

These  Orders  and  Directions  and  the  Instructions  were  first 
printed  by  the  late  Rev.  E.  D.  Neill,  in  1869,  from  the  copies 
preserved  with  the  manuscript  Virginia  Company  Records 
1621-1625,  still  unpublished,  in  the  Library  of  Congress.  When 
the  history  of  Virginia  is  written,  its  compiler  will  be  under 
great  obligations  to  Neill  for  the  materials  made  accessible 
through  his  efforts.  Some  recent  writers,  who  refer  to  him, 
since  his  death,  with  contemptuous  epithets,  are  very  much 
more  indebted  to  him  for  information  than  they  have  had  the 
grace  to  acknowledge. 


among  others,  this  instruction:  ".  .  .  the  said 
Captain  Newport  shall  with  such  number  of  men 
as  shall  be  assigned  him  by  the  President  and 
Counsel  of  the  said  Colony,  spend  and  bestow  two 
months  in  discovery  of  such  ports  and  rivers  as 
can  be  found  in  that  country,  and  shall  give  order 
for  the  present  laiding  and  furnishing  of  the  two 
ships  above  named  [the  Sarah  Constant  and  the 
Goodspeed],  and  all  such  principal  comodities  and 
merchandize  as  can  there  be  had  and  found,  in 
such  sort  as  he  may  return  with  the  said  ships  full 
laden  with  good  merchandizes,  bringing  with  him 
full  relation  of  all  that  hath  passed  in  said  voyage, 
by  the  end  of  May  next,  if  God  permit."* 

From  the  Instructions  given  by  way  of  advice  to 
the  voyagers,  which  were  probably  drawn  up  by 
Hakluyt,  we  take  the  following  extracts: 

"When  you  have  discovered  as  far  up  the  river 
as  you  mean  to  plant  yourselves  and  landed  your 
victuals  and  munitions,  to  the  end  that  every  man 
may  know  his  charge,  you  shall  do  well  to  divide 
your  six  score  men  into  three  parts,  whereof  one 
party  of  them  you  may  appoint  to  fortify  and  build, 
of  which  your  first  work  must  be  your  storehouse 
for  victual;  another  you  may  employ  in  preparing 
your  ground  and  sowing  your  corn  and  roots,  ten 
of  these  forty  you  must  leave  as  centinel  at  the 
haven's  mouth.  The  other  forty  you  may  employ 
for  two  months  in  discovery  of  the  river  above  you, 
and  on  the  country  about  you,  which  charge  Cap- 
tain Newport  and  Captain  Gosnold  may  undertake 
of  these  forty  discoverers;  when  they  do  espie 
any  high  lands  or  hills  Captain  Gosnold  may  take 
twenty  of  the  Company  to  cross  over  the  lands 
and,  carrying  a  half-dozen  pickaxes,  to  try  if  they 
can  find  any  minerals,  "f  .  .  .  "You  shall  do 

*Neill's  Virginia  Company,  p.  8;  Brown's  Genesis,  p.  75. 
tNeill's  Virginia  Company,  p.  10;  Brown's  Genesis,  p.  82. 


8 

well  to  send  a  perfect  relation  by  Captain  Newport 
of  all  that  is  done,  what  height  [/.  e.,  latitude]  you 
are  seated,  how  far  into  the  land,  what  commodities 
you  find,  what  soil,  woods  and  their  several  kinds; 
and  so  of  all  other  things  else  to  advertise  particu- 
larly; and  to  suffer  no  man  to  return  but  by  pass- 
port from  the  President  and  Counsel,  nor  to  write 
any  letter  of  anything  that  may  discourage  others."* 

In  pursuance  of  these  orders  and  instructions,  on 
Thursday,  the  2ist  of  May,  1607,  about  noon,  just 
one  week  after  landing  and  beginning  their  settle- 
ment at  Jamestown — which  was  on  Thursday,  the 
I4th  of  May,  1607,  old  style,  corresponding  to  May 
24th  of  our  present  calendar — Captain  Christopher 
Newport,  with  five  gentlemen,  George  Percy,  Esq., 
Capt.  Gabriel  Archer,  Capt.  John  Smith,  Mr.  John 
Brooks  and  Dr.  Thomas  Wotton;  four  mariners, 
Francis  Nelson,  John  Colson,  Robert  Tindall  and 
Mathew  Fitch,  and  fourteen  sailors,  Jonas  Poole, 
Robert  Markham,  John  Crookdeck,  Oliver  Browne, 
Benjamin  White,  Rich.  Genoway,  Tho.  Turnbridge, 
Tho.  Godword,  Robert  Jackson,  Charles  Clarke, 
Thomas  Skinner,  Jeremy  Deale,  Stephen  and 
Daniel,  set  out  from  Jamestown,  in  their  ' '  shallop, ' ' 
"  with  a  perfect  resolution  not  to  return,  but  either 
to  find  the  head  of  this  river,  the  lake  mentioned 
by  others  heretofore,  the  sea  againe,  the  maun- 
tayne  Apalatsi,  or  some  issue."  And  on  Saturday, 
the  23d  day  of  May,  1607,  old  style,  corresponding 
to  June  2d  of  the  present  calendar,  they  saw  for 
the  first  time  the  present  site  of  Richmond.! 

We  have,  besides  the  references  made  to  this 
voyage  by  Capt.  John  Smith  in  his  printed  accounts, 

*  Neill's  Virginia  Company,  p.  13.    Brown's  Genesis,  p.  85. 

t  Charles  Campbell,  History  of  Virginia  (1860),  p.  42,  erron- 
eously gives  this  date  as  June  10.  W.  G.  Stanard,  in  the  His- 
torical Sketch  of  Richmond,  in  the  Times  Almanac  1899,  gives 
this  date  May  21.  They  left  Jamestown  about  noon  May  21, 
and  reached  the  falls  Saturday  afternoon,  May  23. 


the  statements  of  George  Percy  in  his  "Relation," 
first  printed  by  Purchas,  and  the  very  minute  and 
interesting  "Relation  of  the  Discovery  of  our 
River,  by  a  Gentleman  of  the  Colony,"  attributed 
to  Capt.  Gabriel  Archer,  first  Secretary  or  Recorder 
of  the  Colony.  These  three  are  the  principal  origi- 
nal authorities  on  this  voyage  of  discovery.  Robert 
Tindall,  one  of  the  mariners,  who  is  referred  to  as 
"Gunner  to  His  Highness,"  wrote  a  letter  to 
Prince  Henry,  from  Jamestown,  June  22d,  1607,  at 
the  time  of  Newport's  return  for  England,  trans- 
mitting to  him  a  journal  of  the  voyage  and  a 
"draughte  "  or  map  of  the  river.  The  original  of 
this  letter  is  preserved  in  the  Harleian  Manuscripts 
in  the  British  Museum.* 

Archer  says: 

"Thus  parting  from  Arahatecs  ioye,~\  we  found 
the  people  on  either  syde  the  River  stand  in  Clus- 
ters all  along,  still  profering  vs  victualls,  which  of 
some  were  accepted;  as  our  guydes  (that  were  with 
vs  in  the  boate)  pleased,  and  gaue  them  requitall. 

"  So  after  we  had  passed  some  10.  myle,  which 
(by  the  pleasure  and  ioye  we  took  of  our  kinde  in- 

*  Archer's  Relation  was  first  printed  in  1860  by  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society  Arch&ologia  Americana,  vol.  IV,  pp.  40 
ft  seg,  and  Judge  Wm.  Green  identified  him  as  the  author. 
Bancroft  said:  "  this  relation  has  an  interest  from  its  fulness  of 
details  and  its  indisputable  authenticity."  The  extracts  here 
given  from  the  accounts  of  Archer,  Percy  and  Smith,  are  copied 
from  Edward  Arber's  Edition  of  Captain  John  Smith's  Works, 
sm.  8vo.  pp.  cxxxvi  and  984,  Birmingham,  1884,  reissued  West- 
minster, 1895.  This  book  and  Alexander  Brown's  two  works, 
Genesis  of  the  United  States  and  First  Republic  in  America, 
are  probably,  of  all  current  books,  the  most  useful  to  the  student 
of  the  early  history  of  Virginia,  and  they  should  be  more  widely 
read  in  this  State.  Of  John  Fiske's  Old  Virginia  and  Her 
Neighbors  probably  ten  thousand  copies  have  been  sold,  but  a 
small  percentage  of  that  number  was,  however,  bought  in 
Virginia. 

t  Either  Cox's  Landing  or  "Newstead,"  the  plantation  for- 
merly owned  by  Col.  Wm.  Boulware  now  owned  by  Bennett. 


8 

terteynment,  and  for  the  Comfort  of  our  happy  and 
hopefull  Discovery)  we  accompted  scarce.  5.  we 
came  to  the  second  Ilet*  Described  in  the  Ryver; 
over  against  which  on  Popham  syde  is  the  habita- 
tyon  of  the  greate  kyng  Pawatah :  f  which  I  call 
Pawatahs  Towre ;  it  is  scituat  upon  a  highe  Hill 
by  the  water  syde,  a  playne  betweene  it  and  the 
water.  12.  score  over,  whereon  hesowes  his  wheate, 
beane,  peaze,  tobacco,  pompions,  gourdes,  Hempe, 
flaxe,  &c.  And  were  any  Art  vsed  to  the  naturall 
state  of  this  place,  it  would  be  a  goodly  habitatyon: 
Heere  we  were  conducted  vp  the  Hill  to  the  kyng, 
with  whome  we  found  our  kinde  king  Arahatec: 
Thes.  2.  satt  by  themselves  aparte  from  all  the  rest 
(saue  one  who  satt  by  Powhatah,  and  what  he  was 
I  could  not  gesse  but  they  told  me  he  was  no 
Wiroans):  Many  of  his  company  satt  on  either  side: 
and  the  mattes  for  vs  were  layde  right  over  against 
the  kynges.  He  caused  his  weomen  to  bring  vs 
vittailes,  mulberyes,  strawberryes  &c.  but  our  best 
entertaynment  was  frendly  wellcome."  .  .  . 

"  Now  the  Day  Drawing  on,  we  made  signe  to 
be  gone,  wherewith  he  was  contented;  and  sent.  6. 
men  with  vs:  we  also  left  a  man  with  him,  and  De- 
parted. But  now  rowing  some.  3.  myle  in  shold 
water  we  came  to  an  overfall,  impassable  for  boates 

*  Turkey  Island,  having  been  previously  referred  to  in  the 
narrative. 

fjohn  Fiske,  Old  Virginia  and  Her  Neighbors,  vol.  I,  p.  94, 
gives  "  Falling  Waters  "  as  the  English  equivalent  of  Powha- 
tan.  But  "  Powotawh  "  meant  a  hill,  a  mountain;  "  Powotawh- 
an,"  hilly,  mountainous.  The  Powhatan  meant  then,  I  think, 
the  hereditary  ruler  of  the  people  in  the  hill  country.  "  Shacaho" 
meant  a  stone  ;  "  Shacahocan,"  of  or  pertaining  to  stone.  From 
this  comes  our  name  "  Shockoe  "  Creek.  The  "Old  Rock 
Landing"  was  on  the  West  bank  of  this  creek,  at  its  mouth, 
near  the  present  site  of  the  Ola  Gas  Works.  "  Mananst " 
meant  a  little  stone;  "  Mananst-oh,"  stony,  rocky.  The  high 
land  on  the  South  side  of  the  river  at  the  Falls  was  named 
"  Rocky  Ridge  "  by  the  English,  the  Indians  doubtless  called 
it  "  Mananstoh,"  and  this  name,  pronounced  quickly,  sounds 
very  like  the  Englishman's  pronunciation  to-day  of  Manchester. 


9 

any  further.  Here  the  water  falles  Downe  through 
great  mayne  Rockes,  from  ledges  of  Rockes  aboue. 
2.  fadome  highe:  in  which  fall  it  maketh  Divers 
little  Iletts,  on  which  might  be  placed  100.  water 
milnes  for  any  vses.  Our  mayne  Ryver  ebbs  and 
flowes.  4.  foote  even  to  ye  skert  of  this  Downfall. 
Shippes  of.  200.  or.  300.  tonne  may  come  to  within. 
5.  myle  hereof,  and  the  rest  Deepe  inoughe  for 
Barges,  or  small  vessells  that  Drawe  not  aboue.  6. 
foote  water.  Having  viewed  this  place,  betweene 
Content  and  greefe  we  left  it  for  this  night,  deter- 
myning  the  next  Day  to  fitt  our  selfe  for  a  March 
by  Land. 

"So  we  roade  all  night  betweene  Pawatahs 
Tower  and  that  Ilet  I  call*  whereon  is.  6. 

or.  7.  families."  .  .  . 

"  Sonday,  Whitsonday,  our  Captayne  caused  two 
peeces  of  porke  to  be  sodd  a  shore  with  pease;  to 

*  Blank  in  original.  In  the  manuscript  book  of  Evidencts  of 
the  Lands  of  Wm.  Syrd,  preserved  in  the  Virginia  Historical 
Society,  there  is  recorded  the  plat  of  a  survey  made  by  Wm. 
Hall,  26  August,  1662,  for  Captain  Thos.  Stegg,  uncle  of  the 
first  Wm.  Byrd,  of  what  later  became  known  as  the  "Falls 
Plantation,"  on  the  south  side  of  James  River  extending  from 
the  mouth  of  Goode's  Creek  up  to  a  point  above  the  present 
site  of  the  works  of  the  Allison  &  Addison  Branch  of  the  Vir- 
ginia-Carolina Chemical  Company.  This  plat  shows  "  Har- 
rards,  or  Harwood's"  Island,  then,  below  it,  "My  Lord's 
Isle,"  of  much  larger  area,  below  that  a  small  island  called 
"Prince's1 '  or  "Prince's  Folly.' '  Later  maps  show  and  deeds  refer 
to,  in  addition  to  these,  "  Edward's  Island,"  doubtless  so  called 
from  Edward  Lane,  an  early  settler  there,  and  "  Willow  Island," 
both  of  which  were  below  "  Prince's  Folly."  All  of  these 
Islands  were  above  the  mouth  of  Goode's  Creek,  then  called 
Stony  Creek.  The  action  of  the  currents  in  nearly  three  centu- 
ries of  floods,  and  the  work  of  the  improvement  of  the  river 
for  deepening  the  channel  have,  of  course,  very  greatly  changed 
the  physical  situation  hereabouts.  There  is  at  present  a  penin 
sula  of  very  considerable  area  variousiy  styled  on  our  modern 
maps  "  Drury's,"  "  Drewry's  "  and  "  Hardin's"  Island.  From 
its  centre  to  the  falls  the  distance  by  river  is  a  little  over  two 
miles.  In  the  low  grounds,  about  opposite  the  centre  of  "  My 
Lord's  Isle,"  Captain  Stegg  had  built  a  one  story  stone  house, 
which  was  standing  in  1662. 


10 

which  he  invyted  king  Pawatah:  for  Arahatec  per- 
swading  himselfe  we  would  come  Downe  the  Ryver 
that  night,  went  home  before  Dynner,  for  prepara- 
tyon  against  our  Coming."  .  .  . 

"  Now  Arahatec  departed,  and  it  being  Dynner 
tyme,  king  Pawatah  with  some  of  his  people  satt 
with  vs,  brought  of  his  dyet,and  wefedd  familiarly, 
without  sitting  in  his  state  as  before;  he  eat  very 
freshly  of  our  meat,  Dranck  of  our  beere,  Aqua- 
vite,  and  Sack.  Dynner  Done  we  entred  into  Dis- 
course of  the  Ryver  how  far  it  might  be  to  the  head 
thereof,  where  they  gat  their  Copper,  and  their 
Iron,  and  how  many  dayes  iornye  it  was  to  Mona- 
nacah  Rahowacah  and  the  Mountaines  Quirank:* 
requesting  him  to  have  guydes  with  vs  also  in  our 
intended  March;  for  our  Captaine  Determyned  to 
haue  travelled  two  or.  3.  dayes  iornye  a  foot  vp 
the  Ryver:  but  without  gyving  any  answer  to  our 
Demaundes,  he  shewde  he  would  meete  vs  him- 
selfe at  the  overfall  and  so  we  parted.  This  Naui- 
raus  accompanyed  vs  still  in  the  boate.  According 
to  his  promyse  he  mett  vs;  where  the  fellow  whome 
I  haue  called  our  kinde  Consort,  he  that  followed 
vs  from  Turkey  lie,  at  the  Coming  of  Pawatah 
made  signe  to  vs  we  must  make  a  shoute,  which 
we  Dyd. 

"  Now  sitting  vpon  the  banck  by  the  overfall  be- 
holding the  same,f  he  began  to  tell  vs  of  the  tedyous 
travell  we  should  haue  if  wee  proceeded  any  fur- 
ther, that  it  was  a  Daye  and  a  halfe  lorney  to  Mo- 
nanacah,  and  if  we  went  to  Quiranck,  we  should 
get  no  vittailes  and  be  tyred,  and  sought  by  all 
meanes  to  Disswade  our  Captayne  from  going  any 
further:  Also  he  tolde  vs  that  the  Monanacah  was 

*  The  Blue  Ridge.  The  knowledge  of  the  Appalachian 
mountains  possessed  by  the  Virginia  Company  was  doubtless 
had  from  the  references  in  the  Spanish  relations. 

t  The  word  here  printed  "  same,"  is  "  sonne  "  in  Archceologia, 
and  Rev.  E.  E.  Hale  says,  in  a  note,  "  The  sun;  or  perhaps 
'  looking  westward.'  " 


11 

his  Enmye,  and  that  he  came  Downe  at  the  fall  of 
the  leafe  and  invaded  his  Countrye. 

"Now  what  I  coniecture  of  this  I  haue  left  to  a 
further  experience.  But  our  Captayne  out  of  his 
Discreyton  (though  we  would  faine  have  scene  fur- 
ther, yea  and  himselfe  as  desirous  also)  Checkt  his 
intentyon  and  retorned  to  his  boate;  as  holding  it 
much  better  to  please  the  king  (with  whome  and 
all  of  his  Comaund  he  had  made  so  faire  way)  then 
to  prosecute  his  owne  fancye  or  satisfye  our  re- 
questes:  So  vpon  one  of  the  little  Iletts  at  the 
mouth  of  the  falls*  he  sett  vp  a  Crosse  with  this  in- 
scription lacobus  Rex.  1607.  and  his  owne  name 
belowe:  At  the  erecting  hereof  we  prayed  for  our 
kyng  and  our  owne  prosperous  success  in  this  his 
Actyon,  and  proclaymed  him  kyng,  with  a  greate 
showte.  The  king  Pawatah  was  now  gone  (and  as 
we  noted  somewhat  Distasted  with  our  importunity 
of  proceeding  vp  further)  and  all  the  Salvages  like- 
wise save  Nauiraus,  who  seeing  vs  set  vp  the 
Crosse  with  such  a  shoute,  began  to  admire;  but 
our  Captayne  told  him  that  the  two  Armes  of  the 
Crosse  signifyed  king  Powatah  and  himselfe,  the 
fastening  of  it  in  the  myddest  was  their  vnited 

*  If,  in  their  trip  by  land  from  the  Indian  village  to  the  falls  on 
Sunday  afternoon,  they  followed,  as  seems  probable,  the  north 
bank  of  the  river,  the  Indian  guide  taking  their  boat  up  by  river, 
and  this  cross  was  erected  after  returning  from  the  rocks  to  their 
boat,  the  probable  place  of  this  ceremony  was  the  small  island 
shown  on  early  maps  of  Richmond  as  Lot  No.  321,  at  the 
North  end  of  Mayo's  bridge,  which  island  after  the  construction 
of  the  James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal  became  incorporated 
into  the  main  land.  Here  Mayo's  Warehouse  formerly  stood 
and  its  site  is  now  the  freight  depots  of  the  Southern  Railway. 
A  stone  monument  with  a  bronze  tablet,  to  mark  the  height  of 
the  flood  of  1877,  removed  to  this  locality  from  the  vicinity  of 
Fifteenth  and  Main  Streets  a  few  years  ago,  has  within  the  past 
year  been  buried  by  the  raised  grade  in  repaving  Fourteenth 
Street.  Some  generations  hence  it  may  be  unearthed  to  the 
delight  of  any  inhabitant  then  who  may  be  curious  about  our 
history. 


12 

Leaug,  and  the  shoute  the  reverence  he  Dyd  to 
Pawatah,  which  cheered  Nauiraus  not  a  little." 

"So  far  as  we  could  Discerne  the  River  above 
the  overfall,  it  was  full  of  huge  Rockes:  About  a 
myle  of  [f],  it  makes  a  pretty  bigg  Hand;*  It  runnes 
up  betweene  highe  Hilles  which  increace  in  height 
one  aboue  another  so  farr  as  wee  sawe.  Now  our 
kynde  Consortes  relay  ton  sayth  (which  I  dare  well 
beleeve,  in  that  I  found  not  any  one  report  false  of 
the  River  so  farr  as  we  tryed,  or  that  he  tolde  vs 
vntruth  in  any  thing  ells  whatsoeuer)  that  after  a 
Dayes  iorney  or  more,  this  River  Devydes  it  selfe 
into  two  branches,  which  both  come  from  the 
mountaynes  Quirank.  Here  he  whispered  with 
me  that  theer  caquassartf  was  gott  in  the  bites  ot 
Rockes  and  betweene  ClifFes  in  certayne  vaynes. 

"  Having  ended  thus  of  force  our  Discovery,  our 
Captayne  intended  to  call  of  kyng  Pawatah,  and 
sending  Nauiraus  vp  to  him  he  came  Downe  to 
the  water  syde;  where  he  went  a  shore  single  vnto 
him,  presented  him  with  a  Hatchet,  and  staying 
but  till  Nauiraus  had  tolde  (as  we  trewly  perceived ) 
the  meaning  of  our  setting  vp  the  Crosse,  which 
we  found  did  exceedingly  reioyce  him,  he  came  a 
boorde,  with  the  kyndest  farewell  that  possible 
might  be.  Now  at  our  putting  of[f]  the  boate, 
Nauiraus  willed  vs  to  make  a  shout,  which  we  Dyd 
two  severall  times,  at  which  ye  king  and  his  com- 
pany weaved  their  skinnes  about  their  heades 
answering  our  shout  with  gladnes  in  a  frendly 
fashion. 

"This  night  (though  late)  we  came  to  Arahatec 
loy,  where  we  found  the  king  ready  to  entertayne 
vs,  and  had  provided  some  victualls  for  vs,  but  he 

*Called  on  our  early  maps  "  Broad  Rock  Island,"  now  "  Belle 
Isle,"  famed  as  a  prison  camp  during  the  Civil  War,  the  site  of 
the  Old  Dominion  Iron  and  Nail  Works. 

t "  Redstone  or  copper."    Hale's  Note  in  Archceologia. 


13 

tolde  vs  he  was  very  sick,  and  not  able  to  sitt  vp 
long  with  us,  so  we  repaired  aborde. 

"Monday  he  came  to  the  water  syde,  and  we 
went  a  shore  to  him  agayne.  He  tolde  vs  that  our 
hott  Drynckes  he  thought  caused  his  greefe,  but 
that  he  was  well  agayne,  and  we  were  very  well- 
come." 

Percy  says: 

"This  Riuer  which  wee  haue  discouered  is  one 
of  the  famousest  Riuers  that  euer  was  found  by  any 
Christian.  It  ebbes  and  flowes  a  hundred  and 
threescore  miles,  where  ships  of  great  burthen  may 
harbour  in  safetie.  Wheresoeuer  we  landed  vpon 
this  Riuer,  wee  saw  the  goodliest  Woods  as  Beech, 
Oke,  Cedar,  Cypresse,  Wai-nuts,  Sassafras  and 
Vines  in  great  abundance  which  hang  in  great 
clusters  on  many  Trees,  and  other  Trees  vnkown; 
and  all  the  grounds  bespred  with  many  sweet  and 
delicate  flowres  of  diuers  colours  and  kindes. 
There  are  also  many  fruites  as  Strawberries,  Mul- 
berries, Rasberries,  and  Fruites  vnknowne.  There 
are  many  branches  of  this  Riuer,  which  runne  flow- 
ing through  the  Woods  with  great  plentie  of  fish 
of  all  kindes;  as  for  Sturgeon,  all  the  World  can- 
not be  compared  to  it.  In  this  Countrey  I  haue 
scene  many  great  and  large  Medowes  hauing  ex- 
cellent good  pasture  for  many  Cattle.  There  is 
also  great  store  of  Deere  both  Red  and  Fallow. 
There  are  Beares,  Foxes,  Otters,  Beuers,  Muskats, 
and  wild  beasts  vnknown. 

"The  foure  and  twentieth  day,  we  set  up  a 
Crosse  at  the  head  of  this  Riuer,  naming  it  Kings 
Riuer,  where  we  proclaimed  lames  King  of  Eng- 
land to  haue  the  most  right  vnto  it.  When  wee 
had  finished  and  set  vp  our  Crosse,  we  shipt  our 
men  and  made  for  lames  Fort. 

"  By  the  way,  wee  came  to  Powhatans  Towre, 
where  the  Captaine  went  on  shore,  suffering  none 


14 

to  goe  with  him.  Hee  presented  the  Commander 
of  this  place  with  a  Hatchet;  which  hee  tooke  ioy- 
fully,  and  was  well  pleased. 

"  But  yet  the  Sauages  murmured  at  our  planting 
in  the  Countrie,  whereupon  this  Wcroivance  made 
answere  againe  very  wisely  of  a  Sauage,  Why 
should  you  bee  offended  with  them,  as  long  as  they 
hurt  you  not,  nor  take  any  thing  away  by  force. 
They  take  but  a  little  waste  ground,  which  doth 
you  nor  any  of  vs  any  good." 

Smith  says  in  the  True  Relation,  printed  at 
London  1608: 

"But  to  finish  this  discourie,  we  passed  on  fur- 
ther, where  within  an  ile  we  were  intercepted  with 
great  scraggy  stones  in  the  midst  of  the  riuer, 
where  the  water  falleth  so  rudely,  and  with  such  a 
violence,  as  not  any  boat  can  possibly  passe,  and 
so  broad  disperseth  the  streame,  as  there  is  not 
past  fiue  or  sixe  Foote  at  a  low  water,  and  to  the 
shore  scarce  passage  with  a  barge,  the  water  flow- 
eth  foure  foote,  and  the  freshes  by  reason  of  the 
Rockes  haue  left  markes  of  the  inundations  8.  or 
9.  foote:  The  south  side  is  plaine  low  ground,  and 
the  north  side  high  mountaines,  the  rockes  being 
of  a  grauelly  nature,  interlaced  with  many  vains  of 
glistring  spangles. 

"That  night  we  returned  to  Powhatan:  the  next 
day  (being  Whitsunday  after  dinner)  we  returned 
to  the  fals.  leauing  a  mariner  in  pawn  with  the  In- 
dians for  a  guide  of  theirs,  hee  that  they  honoured 
for  King  followed  vs  by  the  riuer.  That  afternoone 
we  trifled  in  looking  vpon  the  Rockes  and  riuer 
(further  he  would  not  goe)  so  there  we  erected  a 
crosse,  and  that  night  taking  our  man  at  Powhatans^ 
Captaine  Newport  congratulated  his  kindenes  with 
a  Gown  and  a  Hatchet:  returning  to  Arsetecke, 
and  stayed  there  the  next  day  to  obserue  the 
height  thereof,  and  so  with  many  signes  of  loue 
we  departed." 


15 

Smith,  in  the  second  part  of  the  Map  of  Virginia, 
printed  at  Oxford  1612,  says: 

"Newport,  with  Smith,  and  20  others,  were  sent 
to  discover  the  head  of  the  river.  By  divers  smal 
habitations  they  passed.  In  6  daies  they  arrived 
at  a  towne  called  Powhatan,  consisting  of  some  12 
houses  pleasantly  seated  on  a  hill:  before  it,  3  fertil 
lies,  about  it  many  of  their  cornefields.  The  place 
is  very  pleasant,  and  strong  by  nature.  Of  this 
place,  the  Prince  is  called  Powhatan,  and  his 
people  Powhatans.  To  this  place,  the  riuer  is 
navigable;  but  higher  within  a  mile,  by  reason  of 
the  Rockes  and  lies,  there  is  not  passage  for  a 
smal  boate:  this  they  call  the  Falles." 

Smith's  History,  1624,  merely  reproduces  the 
statement  printed  by  him  in  1612: 

"Newport,  Smith,  and  twentie  others,  were  sent 
to  discover  the  head  of  the  riuer;  by  divers  small 
habitations  they  passed,  in  six  dayes  they  arrived 
at  a  Towne  called  Powhatan,  consisting  of  some 
tvvelue  houses,  pleasantly  seated  on  a  hill;  before 
it  three  fertile  lies,  about  it  many  of  their  corne- 
fields, the  place  is  very  pleasant,  and  strong  by 
nature,  of  this  place  the  Prince  is  called  Poivhatan, 
and  his  people  Powhatans.  To  this  place  the  river 
is  navigable:  but  higher  within  a  myle,  by  reason 
of  the  Rockes  and  Isles,  there  is  not  passage  for  a 
small  Boat,  this  they  call  the  Falles." 

Smith,  in  the  time  of  his  Presidency,  spent  nine 
days  at  the  falls,  last  of  August  and  first  of  Sep- 
tember, 1609,  endeavoring  to  remove  the  120 
settlers  under  West,  who  had,  he  says,  "  seated  in 
a  place  not  only  subject  to  the  river's  inundation, 
but  round  invironed  with  many  intolerable  incon- 
veniences," to  the  Indian  village  which  was,  he 
says,  "  pretilie  fortified  with  poles  and  barkes  of 
trees  sufficient  to  have  defended  them  from  all  the 


16 

salvages  in  Virginia,  drie  houses  for  lodgings,  300 
acres  of  ground  ready  to  plant,  [this  he  changed 
in  the  General  History  to  read  "  neere  two  hundred 
acres,"]  and  no  place  so  strong,  so  pleasant  and 
delightful  in  Virginia,  for  which  we  called  it  Non- 
such." But  his  endeavors  were  unsuccessful;  he 
"left  them  to  their  fortunes,  they  returning  again 
to  the  open  air  at  West  Fort,  abandoning  Nonsuch, 
and  he  to  Jamestown  with  his  best  expedition."* 

The  following  extracts  are  from  Wm.  Strachey's 
Travaile  into  Virginia,  written  about  1612,  but 
first  printed  by  the  Hakluyt  Society  in  1849: 

"  Concerning  the  high-land  little  can  we  say  as  yet, 
because  thereof  little  have  we  discovered;  only 
some  Indians'  relations  and  some  fewe  daies' 

*  For  the  following  extract  from  the  Byrd  Manuscript  Evi- 
dences of  Lands,  I  presume  that  Col.  Wm.  Byrd  may  be  taken 
as  authority. 

"  The  great  Emperor  Powhatan  dwelt  at  the  Falls  of  James 
River,  where  he  kept  his  Court,  but  being  Jealous  of  the 
Neighbourhood  of  the  English,  who  extended  themselves  high 
up  that  River,  and  intending  to  remove  to  a  place  on  Powto- 
meck,  he  sold  the  Lands  about  the  Falls  to  the  Lord  Delaware 
for  the  use  of  the  Virginia  Company,  &  several  of  the  Com- 
pany's Tenants  were  seated  there,  the  Land  being  exceedingly 
good.  But  there  being  a  great  slaughter  of  them  at  the  time  of 
the  Massacre  by  the  Indians,  that  place  was  deserted  til  the 
Dissolution  of  the  Company,  nor  did  anybody  dare  to  go  thither 
to  live  for  several  years  afterwards,  for  fear  of  the  Monacan 
Indians.  In  that  deserted  condition  this  fine  place  lay  til  the 
year  1634,  when  it  was  granted  by  Patent  to  George  Minefee, 
Esqr.  This  Gentleman  granted  the  Land  about  the  Falls  to 
Capt.  Matthew  Gough,  and  he  conveyed  it  to  John  White, 
Merchant,  Mr.  White  conveyed  the  same  by  Deed  dated  26th 
of  December  1649  to  Fleetwood  Dormer,  Gent.,  for  15,000  Ib. 
Tobacco  and  Cask."  This  has,  however,  reference  specially  to 
1,000  acres  of  what  afterwards  became  known  as  the  "Falls 
Plantation  "  on  the  South  side  of  the  river.  Dormer  conveyed 
to  Rev.  Robert  Lesley.  Wm.  Drummond  as  Attorney  for 
Lesley,  sold  to  Capt.  Thos  Stegg,  October  28,  1659,  and  the 
consideration  named  in  his  deed  of  conveyance  dated  Novem- 
ber 25,  1661,  is  ninety  pounds  sterling.  Stegg  by  his  will  dated 
March  31,  1670,  bequeathed  it  to  his  nephew,  the  first  William 
Byrd. 


17 

marches  into  the  Monocan  country  of  our  owne, 
have  instructed  us  thus  far. 

"This  high  land  extendeth,  we  wot  not  how  far, 
beyond  that  cataract  or  fall  of  water,  which  the  In- 
dians call  Paquachowng,*  from  whence  one  daie's 
jorney  into  the  Monocan  country.  Our  elder  plant- 
ers (at  their  first  comyng)  proclaymed  His  Majes- 
tic king  of  the  country  at  Mohomingef  (a  neighbour 
village),  and  sett  up  a  crosse  there  with  His  Majes- 
tie's  name  inscribed  thereon,  the  said  falls  being 
one  hundred  and  fifty  myles  up  from  the  mouth  of 
the  bay,  and  where  the  current  there  at  his  head 
falleth,  with  an  easye  discent,  three  or  four  fath- 
ome  downe  into  the  low  contry."  ...  P.  25. 

"  Upon  Powhatan,  or  the  King's  river,  are  seated 
as  followeth: — 

"  i.  Parahunt,  one  of  Powhatan's  sonnes,  whome 
we  therefore  call  Tanxpowatan,  which  is  as  much 
to  say  Little  Powhatan,  and  is  weroance  of  the 
country  which  hath  his  owne  name,  called  Powha- 
tan, lying  (as  before  mencioned)  close  under  the 
Falls,  bordering  the  Monacans,  and  he  maye  at  the 
present  be  furnished  with  fifty  fighting  and  ready 
men."  ...  P.  56. 

"The  great  emperour  at  this  time  amongst  them, 
we  comondly  call  Powhatan,  for  by  that  name, 
true  yt  is,  he  was  made  knowne  unto  us  when  we 
arrived  in  the  country  first,  and  so,  indeed,  he  was 
generally  called  when  he  was  a  yong  man,  as  tak- 
ing his  denomination  from  the  country  Powhatan, 
wherin  he  was  borne,  which  is  above  the  Falls,  as 
before  mentioned,  right  over  aneinst  the  islands,  at 

*  This  is  evidently  only  a  variation  of  the  Indian  sounds  which 
we  now  render  "  Powhatan." 

fOne  of  the  early  plats  of  lands  patented  by  Captain  Wm. 
Byrd,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  shows  Indian  huts  above 
the  mouth  of  Shockoe  Creek,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  site 
of  Planters  and  Merchants  Warehouse  and  the  Old  Gas 
Works.  "  Mowkohan  "  meant  a  fish-hook,  and  "  Mohominge" 
may  have  meant  a  fishing-place. 


18 

the  head  of  our  river,  and  which  place,  or  birth- 
right of  his,  he  sold,  anno  1609,  about  September, 
unto  Captain  Francys  West,  our  lord  generall's 
brother,  who  therefore  erected  there  a  fort,  calling 
yt  West's  Fort,  and  sate  himself  down  there  with 
one  hundred  and  twenty  English;  the  inhabitants 
themselves,  especially  his  frontier  neighbour  prince, 
call  him  still  Powhatan;  his  owne  people  some- 
times call  him  Ottaniack,  sometyme  Mamanato- 
wick,  which  last  signifies  "great  king";  but  his 
proper  right  name,  which  they  salute  him  with 
(himself  in  presence),  is  Wahunsenacawh."  .  .  . 
P.  48. 

"He  hath  divers  seates  or  howses;  his  chief, 
when  we  came  into  the  country,  was  upon  Pamunky 
River,  on  the  north  side  or  Pembrook  side,  called 
Werowocomoco,  which,  by  interpretacion,  signi- 
fies kinges'-howse;  howbeit,  not  liking  to  neigh- 
bour so  neere  us,  that  house  being  within  some  fif- 
teen or  sixteen  miles  where  he  saw  we  purposed  to 
hold  ourselves,  and  from  whence,  in  six  or  seven 
howers,  we  were  able  to  visite  him,  he  removed,  and 
ever  since  hath  most  what  kept  at  a  place  in  the  des- 
arts  called  Orapaks,  at  the  top  of  the  river  Chicka- 
hamania,  betweene  Youghtamund  and  Powhatan. 
He  is  a  goodly  old  man,  not  yet  shrincking,  though 
well  beaten  with  many  cold  and  stormye  winters, 
in  which  he  hath  bene  patient  of  many  necessityes 
and  attempts  of  his  fortune  to  make  his  name  and 
famely  great.  He  is  supposed  to  be  little  lesse  than 
eighty  yeares  old,  I  dare  not  saye  how  much  more; 
others  saye  he  is  of  a  tall  stature  and  cleane  lymbes, 
of  a  sad  aspect,  rownd  fatt  visaged,  with  graie 
haires,  but  plaine  and  thin,  hanging  upon  his  broad 
showlders;  some  few  haires  upon  his  chin,  and  so 
on  his  upper  lippe:  he  hath  been  a  strong  and  able 
salvadge,  synowe,  and  of  a  daring  spirit,  vigilant, 
ambitious,  subtile  to  enlarge  his  dominions  :  for, 
but  the  countryes  Powhatan,  Arrohatock,  Appa- 


19 

matuck,  Pamunky,  Youghtamund,  and  Mattapa- 
mient,  which  are  said  to  come  unto  him  by  inheri- 
tance, all  the  rest  of  the  territories  before  named 
and  expressed  in  the  mappe,  and  which  are  all  ad- 
joyning  to  that  river  whereon  we  are  seated,  they 
report  (as  is  likewise  before  remembred)  to  have 
been  eyther  by  force  subdued  unto  him,  or  through 
feare  yeilded."  P.  49. 

The  following  extract  is  from  the  History  of 
Richmond,  by  Dr.  John  P.  Little,  Southern  Lite- 
rary Messenger,  Vol.  XVII  (1851),  p.  610,  and 
will  at  least  afford  a  contrast  of  the  literary  styles 
of  the  "makers"  of  Virginia  History,  in  1607, 
and  its  "  writers  "  nearly  two  and  a  half  centuries 
later: 

"  Beautifully  must  the  landscape  have  appeared 
in  the  evening  sunlight,  as  Smith  and  his  bold 
companions  made  their  way  up  to  the  foot  of  the 
falls.  The  mighty  river  rolling  and  tumbling  down 
its  rocky  bed,  dashing  and  roaring  among  the  rocks 
that  impeded  its  course,  spreading  placidly  out 
into  a  broad  bay  below;  the  various  islands  that 
dotted  its  surface;  the  low  grounds  now  cultivated 
and  the  site  of  Manchester  covered  with  dense  for- 
ests in  the  full  leaf  of  summer;  the  high  hills 
around,  made  still  more  high  by  their  crown  of  tall 
trees,  glancing  and  waving  in  the  sunlight,  and 
casting  a  sombre  shadow  on  the  turbid  waters  be- 
low; the  Indian  village  in  the  distance,  with  its 
smoke  columns  ascending  for  the  evening  meal; 
and  a  troop  of  painted  savages  on  the  shore,  watch- 
ing the  boat's  crew  and  forbidding  their  landing, 
made  up  a  scene  of  wild  and  picturesque  beauty. 
So  accurately  does  Smith  describe  the  residence  of 
Powhatan,  by  the  beauty  of  situation,  the  quantity 
of  arable  land  around,  the  three  islands  opposite 
and  the  distance  from  the  falls,  that  it  will  be  at 
once  recognized  as  the  place  called  by  his  name, 


20 

and  now  owned  by  Col.  Mayo.*  The  Indian  chief 
had  chosen  his  residence  well;  cultivated  fields  lay 
around;  his  town  was  well  palisadoed  and  thor- 
oughly protected;  the  falls  of  the  river  lay  a  short 
distance  above,  affording  every  opportunity  for  the 
use  of  the  spear  or  the  trap  in  catching  fish,  and 
hunting  grounds  densely  wooded,  stood  on  each 
bank. 

"It  was  truly  an  Indian  Paradise;  affording  all 
that  savage  life  requires,  security,  abundant  food, 
and  the  pleasure  of  hunting." 

*Stith,  History  of  Virginia  (1747),  p.  46,  says  "  This  Place  1 
judge  to  be  either  Mrs.  Mayo's  or  else  Marring's  Planta- 
tion." Archer's  circumstantial  account  of  this  exploration  to 
the  falls  was  not  known  to  either  Stith  or  Little,  and  the  de- 
scriptions given  by  him  make  it  rather  improbable  that  the  place 
called  Powhatan  by  the  Mayo  family  could  have  been  the  site 
of  the  Indian  village.  The  location  given  on  the  two  maps  re- 
produced from  originals  in  Brown's  Genesis,  pp.  150  and  184, 
indicate  a  site  further  from  the  falls  than  the  Mayo  place.  That 
place  is  certainly  not  distant  three  miles  from  the  falls,  it  would 
hardly  have  been  called  by  them  a  "  highe  hill  "  or  a  "towre  ', 
when  looking  upon  the  greater  elevations  which  surround  it, 
and  there  are  not  300,  nor  " neere  two  hundred  acres"  of 
lowgrounds  about  it.  It  is  much  nearer  to  the  falls  than  a  point 
opposite  "  My  Lord's  Isle."  The  present  "  Marion  Hill  "  (Mar- 
rings  Plantation)  or  even  "  Tree  Hill  "  would  more  nearly  meet 
these  requirements.  I  have  searched  the  existing  Henrico 
County  Records  without  finding  in  the  descriptions  of  the  lands 
acquired  by  Joseph  Mayo,  who  came  here  from  Barbadoes  about 
1723,  any  reference  to  Indian  possession  or  occupation. 


Imprynted  by  William  Ellis  Jones, 
xte  ye  signe  of  "The  Mint,"  in  South  Twelfth  Street, 
Richmond,  Virginia,  July,  i£go. 


98612 


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